Netizens divided over JYP Entertainment and Mnet's 'Super Intern'

JYP Entertainment's CCO Park Jin-young, left, and producer Won Jong-woo speak during a press conference promoting Mnet's new show “Super Intern.” Courtesy of Mnet

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Mnet's new audition show “Super Intern,” featuring JYP Entertainment's search for interns, is drawing a mixed reaction from netizens.

After “Super Intern” was unveiled Thursday, many pointed out that viewers have grown tired of survival programs and that a lot of candidates are allegedly trying to occupy the job because they want to meet their idols and gain social media fame.

One comment stated, “Imagine having to do a survival program just to try to get an internship. The idea is just dumb,” and another, “Why are entertainment labels obsessed with survival shows?”

On the other hand, others sided with the candidates and the label, saying, “The applicants are no joke. They know so much about the industry.”

Its first episode received an average viewership rating of 0.3 percent.

During the press conference promoting “Super Intern” in Seoul, Thursday, JYP Entertainment's chief creative officer (CCO) Park Jin-young shared that he interviewed about 100 candidates for 18 hours to select new interns for the company.

“The show's intention is to encourage young people and give them hope as the youth unemployment rate is at a record high,” Park said. “I did not focus on general requirements such as age, gender, education background and past experience, but rather on genuine personality and sparkling ideas.”

He added that he had asked the applicants to do a SWOT analysis on JYP Entertainment, diagnosing the company's strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities and threats in surrounding circumstances.

Through the six-week internship program consisting of team activities and individual tasks, 13 of the interns will be assessed and recruited as full-time employees. The number of finalists is a secret.

“The thing is that when I started the label 20 years ago, there were just three employees ― me, Bang Si-hyuk, who is now the head of Big Hit Entertainment and an accountant. Now the company has about 300 employees,” Park stated. “The entertainment industry has grown to an unprecedented level. We need to evolve in order to catch up with the fast-changing culture. We are in desperate need of new perspectives.”

Producer Won Jong-woo said the goal of the show was to give unlimited opportunities to those who are interested in the entertainment industry and to question the one size-fits-all recruiting system.

“We would like to challenge Korea's conventional spec-based recruiting system, in which the company looks into an applicant's qualifications such as educational background, major, GPA and English test scores,” Won said.

When asked what if the show is more likely to attract people who are fame-hungry rather than those genuinely interested in the job, Won said “Sometimes I do worry 'What if people are here for wrong reasons or what if they had been embroiled in some sorts of controversy? But a lot of the candidates come with the intention of getting the job.”

Won added that the candidates are also briefed that they have to be very careful what they do as far as social media is concerned.

“Before we select the candidates, we do some research and screening of their past to find out what they have been up to,” he said.

The “Super Intern,” which will feature whole recruiting process from the application review to interviews, tasks and finalist selection, airs on Thursday at 8 p.m. on Mnet.